Bonus Points - A USA Wrestling Podcast | Mat Talk Podcast Network

Bonus Points is the official podcast of USA Wrestling and TheMat.com hosted by Richard Immel. Sponsored by Liberty Mutual Insurance Play Positive®, Bonus Points offers interviews and insight from USA Wrestling, the National Governing Body for wrestling in the United States and will feature coaches, athletes and notable names from the sport of wrestling. Part of the Mat Talk Podcast Network.

The four-time NCAA champion and 2011 Junior World silver medalist made his mark on the international wrestling world with an electrifying gold-medal performance at the 2016 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Stieber stared down an incredibly challenging draw at Worlds, with all four of his opponents ranked highly in the United World Wrestling men’s freestyle rankings at 61 kg/134 lbs.

The U.S. gunslinger opened his World title run with a quick 10-0 technical fall over 2015 World bronze medalist Vasyl Shuptar of Ukraine. In the quarterfinals, he topped eventual bronze medalist Akhmed Chakaev of Russia, 13-11, scoring the deciding takedown with five seconds left in the match. Moments later, Stieber secured the match-clinching takedown on Asian silver medalist Behnam Ehsanpoor of Iran with one second remaining in the bout to pull out a 9-8 victory and qualify for the finals.

Standing across Stieber in the gold-medal match was 2015 European Games silver medalist Beka Lomtadze of Georgia. Leading 1-0 entering the second frame, Stieber rode his high-powered offense to a comfortable 8-4 decision and his first World championship.

Stieber won his fourth NCAA title and the Hodge Trophy for the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2015, becoming just the fourth wrestler in NCAA history to accomplish this feat. He is now the first four-time NCAA champion to win a World Championships.

Topics of discussion include the thrill of winning a World title, the clutch factor, his up-and-down 2016 season and much more.

Episode 63 of the USA Wrestling Bonus Points podcast features University of Michigan freshman Logan Massa.

The young Wolverine has taken the NCAA by storm this season, currently holding the No. 2 ranking at 165 pounds and an undefeated 15-0 record.

Massa downed NCAA finalist Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin in the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas International to win his first major college tournament and solidify himself as a NCAA title contender.

As a redshirt freshman, Massa posted a 13-1 record for Michigan. He won the Eastern Michigan Open, Michigan State Open and finished in second place at the Southern Scuffle.

Massa has proven strong on the freestyle side as well. He qualified and competed at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials held last April and placed fourth at the 2016 U.S. Senior Nationals at 74 kg/163 lbs.

Topics of discussion include Massa's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational performance, the high's and low's of his wrestling career thus far, combatting winning with the rise in expectation and much more.

Episode 62 of the USA Wrestling Bonus Points podcast features current Campbell head coach and hall of fame wrestler Cary Kolat.

Kolat finished his career among the most decorated wrestlers in U.S. history. Internationally, he won two World medals in men's freestyle and competed at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

In college, Kolat was a four-time NCAA All-American and two-time NCAA champion. He finished in second and third place at the NCAA Championships for Penn State during his first two years of college. Kolat then transferred to Lock Haven where he won his two NCAA titles.

Kolat was a four-time Pennsylvania state champion, boasting an undefeated record in high school.

In 2017, Kolat will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.

Topics of discussion include Kolat's wrestling career, his journey to grow the Campbell University wrestling program, what drove him to his success, how he combatted failure and much more.

Retherford won his first NCAA title for the Nittany Lions last season at 149 pounds with a 34-0 overall record. Of his 34 wins, 15 were pins, eight came by technical fall and seven were major decisions.

In 2016, Retherford was a finalist for the Hodge Trophy, awarded annually to the best college wrestler, and was awarded the NCAA's most dominant wrestler award.

Retherford enters his junior campaign as a two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten finalist and Big Ten champion. He also finished in third place at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and was a 2012 Cadet World champion in freestyle.

Topics of discussion include Retherford's wrestling journey, growing up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania, the outlook of Penn State this year and much more.

Episode 60 of the USA Wrestling Bonus Points podcast features four-time NCAA All-American, U.S. World Team member and Indiana associate head coach Nick Simmons.

Dubbed the East Lansing Strangler for his punishing wrestling style, Simmons was a staple on the U.S. men's freestyle scene from 2004 until he announced his retirement in 2015.

Simmons finished in fifth place at the 2011 Senior World Championships held in Istanbul, Turkey. He was a runner-up at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Wrestling collegiately for Michigan State, Simmons earned four NCAA All-American honors with finishes of third, fourth, fourth and seventh at the NCAA Championships. He was a three-time Big Ten Champion for the Spartans, racking up 138 collegiate wins with 46 coming by fall.

Simmons was one of the top high school wrestlers in U.S. history with 211 overall wins, only three of which not coming by pin or technical fall. He was a four-time Michigan state champion and three time Junior National champion.

Topics of discussion include the Simmons family Thanksgiving tradition, the outlook of this year's Indiana squad and examining his wrestling career.

In Episode 58 of the USA Wrestling Bonus Points podcast Richard Immel and Jason Bryant take an in-depth look at the upcoming NCAA Division I wrestling season.

Topics of discussion range from returning NCAA champions looking to repeat, potential newcomers who could shake the college landscape, how the team race will play out and, of course, predictions on who will win the NCAA Championships.

Bender has been an employee of USA Wrestling for 29 years and has served as the organization’s chief executive officer for 14 years, leading USA Wrestling through a period of growth and expanded service.

Topics of discussion include the current state of USA Wrestling, the 2016 Olympic Games, growth of wrestling from the youth levels all the way to the Senior-level and much more.

Already cemented as one of the greatest wrestlers in U.S. history entering the 2016 season, Burroughs found himself with a rare opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games for the second time after winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last April.

Burroughs was one of the premier faces for Team USA at the 2016 Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as he attempted to grasp his second Olympic gold medal.

On August 19, 2016 Burroughs competed in the Olympics as a heavy favorite in the men's freestyle 74 kg division. A day he invisioned as his grand statement to the world turned out to be his most difficult day on the wrestling mat.

Burroughs was defeated in the Olympic quarterfinals by eventual silver medalist Aniuar Geduev of Russia, 3-2. He later fell in the repechage round to Bekzod Abdurakhmonov of Uzbekistan, 10-0 and left Rio without a medal.

Despite his Olympic setback, Burroughs has ammased four total World medals, three gold and one bronze, on top of an Olympic gold from 2012. He owns an astounding Senior-level record of 130 wins to only four losses since his debut in 2011.

How does Burroughs view his most recent Olympic outing? What did he do to cope with a rare defeat on the biggest stage in wrestling? Will we see him back on a wrestling mat in the coming year? Burroughs answers all these questions and more on this episode of Bonus Points.

Steveson won men’s freestyle gold for the U.S. at the 2016 Cadet World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia at 100 kg/220 lbs. He picked up four wins on his run to gold, including a 5-1 decision over Adam Beterbiev of Russia in the gold-medal match.

With the win in Tbilisi, Steveson became just the second U.S. wrestler to win the Cadet World Championships twice. The other occured on the very same day with Yianni Diakomihalis also going back-to-back.

In addition to his two Cadet World wins, Steveson has ammased two Minnesota high school state titles for Apple Valley HS entering his Junior year. He also boasts gold medal finishes at the USAW Cadet Freestyle Nationals and USAW Folkstyle Nationals.

Topics of discussion include his dominant Cadet Worlds performance, the pressures of repeating, how to become a successful wrestler and much more.

McHenry won men’s freestyle gold for the U.S. at the 2016 Cadet World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia with an electrifying performance at 42 kg/92.5 lbs.

The Virginia native won four matches over the top Cadet wrestlers in the World to win his first World title. Two of McHenry’s four wins came by technical fall. He posted a last second victory over Mahir Mammadzada of Azerbaijan in the championship match.

McHenry will be a high school sophomore this year at St. Paul's in Maryland. He was a state champion as a freshman at 106 pounds.

Topics of discussion include his Cadet Worlds performance, wrestling as a lightweight, creating a successful wrestling style and much more.

The 19-year-old Hall won men’s freestyle gold for the U.S. at the 2016 Junior World Championships in Macon, France with a remarkable performance at 74 kg/163 lbs.

Hall won five matches over the top Junior wrestlers in the World to win his first Junior crown. Two of Hall’s five wins came by technical fall with one other coming by pin.

Hall adds Junior World champion to a resume that already included 2014 Cadet World champion, three-time age-group U.S. World Team member, three-time USAW Cadet Nationals champion and six-time high school state champion.

Hall is attending college wrestling powerhouse Penn State where he will compete as a freshman this fall.

Topics of discussion include his Junior Worlds journey, college recruitment, navigating early success and much more.

Episode 50 of Bonus Points features 2016 U.S. Cadet World Team member in men's freestyle and USA Wrestling Triple Crown winner Travis Wittlake Jr.

Wittlake won the UWW Cadet Nationals in Akron, Ohio this June to secure his place on the Cadet World Team that will compete at the Cadet World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia in September.

Wrestling out of Oregon, Wittlake won the folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman national titles at the Cadet level this year to earn his fifth Triple Crown award. He won the Cadet folkstyle and Greco-Roman nationals last year, as well as finishing in third place in Cadet freestyle.

Entering his Junior year at Marshfield High School this fall, Wittlake has won two Oregon high school state championships.

Topics of discussion include wrestling at the Cadet Nationals in Fargo, N.D., winning the Triple Crown, competing for a Cadet World title this fall, college prospects and much more.

Askren competed at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China for Team USA. He was a two-time NCAA champion and four-time NCAA finalist for the University of Missouri.

After competing at the Olympics, Askren made the transition to mma full-time. He was a multiple time Bellator welterweight champion and is currently the ONE FC welterweight champion. Askren also heads the Wisconsin based Askren Wrestling Academy alsongside his brother Max.

Askren hosts the T-Row and Funky Show, a weekly wrestling podcast, with fellow U.S. wrestling great Tommy Rowlands.

Topics of discussion include the the magnitude of the Cadet and Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., the Olympic Games, wrestling in mma and much more.

Episode 48 of Bonus Points features former wrestler and UFC Hall of Famer Frank Trigg.

Trigg is a wrestling and mixed martial arts veteteran on top of several other career endeavors that include acting, stunt work and color commentary. He currently covers mma in several journalistic capacities and is now working in Hawaii as a stunt man for television drama Hawaii Five-O.

Trigg grew up wrestling with mild success in Upstate New York. He posted college stints at Oklahoma State and Phoenix College before finishing his career as a NCAA qualifier for Oklahoma. He was highly competitive on the Senior level through 2000 before transitioning to mma full-time.

On the mma scene, Trigg held championship titles for several different promotions. He fought in the famed Pride Fighting Championships and the UFC where he fought for the Welterweight crown twice against all-time great Matt Hughes. Other top-named opponents he battled in the cage were Georges St. Pierre, Carlos Condit, Robbie Lawler, Josh Koshcheck and Matt Serra.

Topics of discussion include the fallout of UFC 200, the future of wrestling in mma, his wrestling and mma journey and much more.

Episode 47 of Bonus Points features 2016 U.S. University World Team member in men's freestyle Adam Hall.

Hall secured a spot on the University World Team by winning the University Nationals held in Akron, Ohio, June 4-5. He will compete at the University World Championships this Oct. in Corum, Turkey.

Since graduating from Boise State where he was a two-time NCAA All-American and four-time NCAA Tournament qualifier, Hall has posted coaching stints at Columbia and North Carolina State. He is currently an assistant coach for NC State and trains with the Wolfpack Wrestling Club.

Topics of discussion include the University World Championships, Olympic Trials, coaching philosophy, growing up in Idaho and much more.

Episode 46 of Bonus Points features the recently named head coach of the U.S. men's freestyle wrestling team Bill Zadick.

Zadick will begin his duties as the head man at USA Wrestling after the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has served as an assistant coach for the U.S. men's freestyle team in various roles since 2009.

Competitively Zadick won the 2006 World Championships and was a two-time U.S. World Team member. He was a NCAA champion for the University of Iowa in 1996.

Topics of discussion include his coaching transition and philosophy, his wrestling career, the future of U.S. men's freestyle wrestling and much more.

Diakomihalis will defend his Cadet World title from last year at the upcoming UWW Cadet World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept. 13-18.

Most recently, Diakomihalis scorched the 63 kg/138 lbs. men’s freestyle field at the 2016 UWW Cadet Nationals held in Akron, Ohio, June 4-5, to secure a berth on his second consecutive U.S. Cadet World Team.

Wrestling for Hilton High School, Diakomihalis has won four New York high school state championships with a chance to make it five as a senior next season. He is committed to wrestle collegiately in his home state at Cornell University for head coach Rob Koll.

Topics of discussion include his journey to a Cadet World title, developing as a young, successful wrestler, what the future holds and much more.

Episode 44 of Bonus Points features Jesse Thielke, 2016 U.S. Olympic Team member at 59 kg/130 lbs. in Greco-Roman wrestling

Thielke won the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials held in Iowa City, Iowa on April 9 with wins over Jermaine Hodge, Spenser Mango and Ildar Hafizov. The 59 kg weight class was not qualified for the U.S. to compete at the Olympic Games at the time of Thielke's victory in Iowa City.

In order to solidify his position at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thielke earned a silver medal at the 2nd World Olympic Games Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey.

Prior to his Olympic run, Thielke was a member of the 2013 U.S. World Team that competed at the 2013 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary where finished in eighth place. He also won a Junior World bronze medal in 2012.

Topics of discussion include Thielke's journey to an Olympic berth, his plan of attack for the Olympic Games, how to be successful in Greco-Roman wrestling and more.

Episode 43 of Bonus Points features Fresno State head coach Troy Steiner.

10 years after dropping its wrestling program, Fresno State made the decision to reinstate wrestling and selected the experienced Steiner to head the program. Fresno State will return to NCAA Div. I competition for the 2017-18 season.

Steiner has seen coaching stints at Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa before spending the past 10 years at Oregon State.

Wrestling in college for Iowa, Steiner was a four-time NCAA All-American and 1992 NCAA champion. He posted an overall record of 148-13 for the Hawkeyes.

Topics of discussion include the decision to accept the Fresno State head coaching position, the future of Fresno State wrestling, his personal wrestling journey and more.

FloWrestling recently celebrated the company's 10-year anniversary with Bader being an integral part in the growth and success of the organization.

Bader joined the FloSports team eight years ago per the request of Co-Founder and CEO Martin Floreani to run Purefight, a subdivision of FloSports. Shortly thereafter, Bader transitioned to manning FloWrestling in conjuction with Floreani, Joe Williamson and others.

If you follow wrestling you have most assuredly heard Bader on one of the many live streams FloWrestling has produced over the past 10 years. Bader has traveled the world to cover wrestling including key coverages at multiple Olympic Games, World Championships, NCAA Championships, Russian Nationals and more.

A native of St. Louis, Mo., Bader wrestled collegiately at the University of Missouri from 1998-2003.

Topics of discussion include the evolution of FloWrestling, his personal journey in an emerging company, the opportunities wrestling has provided, the future of wrestling and much more.

Episode 41 of Bonus Points features two-time U.S. Olympian and two-time World bronze medalist Tervel Dlagnev.

Dlagnev won the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials held in Iowa City, Iowa on April 9 at 125 kg/275 lbs. in men's freestyle wrestling. He secured his Olympic berth with wins over top-flight U.S. heavyweights Connor Medbery, Dom Bradley and Zach Rey. In the best-of-three championship seried Dlagnev topped Rey two matches to zero.

After moving to the U.S. from Bulgaria at age four, Dlagnev has paved a remarkable road on the wrestling mat. He has competed at four senior-level World Championships on top of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. Moreover, he wrestled for a medal in all five of his World and Olympic competitions, earning bronze in 2009 and 2014.

Last year, Dlagnev won the U.S. World Team Trials but was forced to remove himself from the World Championships due to injury. He still battles the very same injury to this day.

At the University level, Dlagnev was a four-time NCAA Division II All-American and two-time NCAA champion at Nebraska-Kearney. He helped lead the program to its first NCAA team championship in 2008. The same year he won a gold medal at the World University Championships in freestyle.

Topics of discussion include battling through adversity to capture his second Olympic berth, moving to the U.S. from Bulgaria as a child, how he rapidly developed his wrestling skillset, preparation for the Olympic Games and much more.

Episode 40 of Bonus Points features Haley Augello, 2016 U.S.
Olympic Team member at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. in women's freestyle
wrestling

Augello won the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials held in Iowa City,
Iowa on April 10 with wins over Candace Workman, Erin Golston,
Alyssa Lampe and Victoria Anthony. The 48 kg weight class was not
qualified for the U.S. to compete at the Olympic Games at the time
of Augello's victory in Iowa City.

In order to qualify for the Olympic Games Augello needed to place
in the top two at the 1st World Olympic Games Qualifier held in
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on April 23. She posted a 3-1 record in
Mongolia to finish in second place and accomplish her qualifying
goal.

Augello is currently a two-time WCWA national champion for King
University with two years of eligibilty remaining. She was a 2011
Cadet World champion and a two-time Junior World Team member.

Topics of discussion include electing to compete at 48 kg, the
journey to an Olympic berth, her life journey on and off the
wrestling mat and much more.